I didn't grow up with commercials telling me to want Metroid. That's not me being a wise old sage about the marketing landscape of the mid-1980s. It's just true. My family got an NES for Christmas, the kind of package deal that came bundled with the three-games-in-one cartridge of Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, and … Continue reading Alone in the Dark: What Metroid Taught Me About Being Lost on Purpose
Game Room
Same Name, Sixteen Different Games: How Final Fantasy Keeps Reinventing the RPG
I need to make a confession before we get into this one. For most of my life, I have treated "Final Fantasy" as a slightly misleading brand name, the way "Cool Ranch" doesn't really tell you much about the flavor profile you're getting into. There is nothing final about it. There have been sixteen mainline … Continue reading Same Name, Sixteen Different Games: How Final Fantasy Keeps Reinventing the RPG
Solid Snake’s Legacy: Metal Gear Solid Franchise Analysis
There's a moment near the end of Metal Gear Solid, right after Snake has destroyed REX and stopped Liquid, when Colonel Campbell tells him something almost throwaway. To keep the government from hunting him down, Snake will simply be registered as killed in action. He saved the world and the reward is that the world … Continue reading Solid Snake’s Legacy: Metal Gear Solid Franchise Analysis
I’m Not Anti-Digital. I Just Want to Own the Things I Buy.
This week, I turned off my PlayStation 5. Actually turned it off. That probably doesn't sound particularly noteworthy, but normally when I'm finished playing something, I put the PS5 into Rest Mode. This past Saturday, knowing that the #PSBlackout boycott was scheduled to begin the following day, I selected "Turn Off PS5" instead. And that's … Continue reading I’m Not Anti-Digital. I Just Want to Own the Things I Buy.
From Cornelia to Ivalice: A Tour of Final Fantasy’s Greatest Worlds
One of the strange joys of being a longtime Final Fantasy fan is that no two games ever feel like they belong to the same universe. You can boot up one entry and find yourself in a medieval kingdom with knights and crystals. Boot up the next and you're navigating an industrial empire full of … Continue reading From Cornelia to Ivalice: A Tour of Final Fantasy’s Greatest Worlds
Why Final Fantasy Still Matters (Even If You’ve Never Played It)
I was ten years old when I picked up the original Final Fantasy for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was 1990, North America had just gotten its hands on the game, and I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. I'd never played a Japanese role-playing game before. I didn't know what hit … Continue reading Why Final Fantasy Still Matters (Even If You’ve Never Played It)
How Final Fantasy’s Magic Systems Have Evolved Over 35+ Years
There's a moment in every Final Fantasy game where magic stops being just a menu option and starts feeling like something real. Maybe it's the first time you grind out enough AP to finally unlock Ultima on your Materia. Maybe it's watching Lulu wind up in that absurd spinning doll animation before torching an entire … Continue reading How Final Fantasy’s Magic Systems Have Evolved Over 35+ Years
Underneath the Armor: How Samus Aran Quietly Changed Everything
I've been playing Metroid games for a long time. Long enough to have a real affection for the series — the atmosphere, the isolation, the particular satisfaction of backtracking through a corridor you couldn't access twenty minutes ago because now you have the right upgrade. It's a franchise that does something very specific and does … Continue reading Underneath the Armor: How Samus Aran Quietly Changed Everything
More Than a Weapon: The Master Sword and the Soul of Zelda
There's a moment in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past that stops you cold. You've been through dungeons, you've collected the three Pendants of Virtue, you've fought your way through Hyrule, and now you're standing in the Lost Woods in front of a sword resting in a stone pedestal. It's not a … Continue reading More Than a Weapon: The Master Sword and the Soul of Zelda
Mario’s Power-Ups: Their Origins and Evolution Across the Series
There's a moment burned into the memory of basically every kid who grew up in the late '80s or early '90s. You're running through World 1-1, and a little question mark block is just sitting there, floating in the air, practically daring you to punch it from below. You do. A mushroom pops out. And … Continue reading Mario’s Power-Ups: Their Origins and Evolution Across the Series
